Ahh, January 2009 ...

... and there are still people who like forcing readers to register with Blogger just to leave comments on their sites.

I won't name names. They know who they are.

Also: The whole "so-and-so said" issue (see post below) is still as problematic as it was in 2005. No, Blogger/Google. So-and-so didn't "say" anything. So-and-so WROTE it. This is Grammar 101. Encountering this in comments threads, over and over again, is like having a knife repeatedly thrust in one's eye. 

But let's put the frowny face aside for a quick virtual toast. Here's to this blog and what's been a truly satisfying ride. I have to say, when I started this blog more than three years ago, I never expected it to become what it's become: a repository of three posts, home to some of the most trenchant non-writing I've ever put my blood and sweat into.

I want to thank my audience for sticking with me. It's been quite the run. Thanks for your readership, your comments and your long-distance friendship.

This is the thread for your own own nostalgic reminiscing about this remarkable journey we've shared. Don't be shy. Just open up and let's remember together -- the laughs, the rough patches, the poignant moments. And here's to another golden three years!

Something else I don't like

I don't like that Blogger comments sections are configured to display "so-and-so said..." at the lead of each comment.

For one thing, the phrasing is clumsy on a semantic level: The past tense ("said") is counterintuitive to readers, who instinctively process the presentation of words in "real time," so to speak. In other words, as a reader comes upon a comment, he or she thinks in terms of what so-and-so is SAYING, not what so-and-so SAID.

The second issue is that this phrasing introduces the potential for confusion, or at least less clarity than need be. In the realm of blog comments, it's customary for commenters to lead off their posts with excerpted quotes from other users' posts, upon which they'll then remark. These excerpts are often presented in italics or bold; sometimes they're distinguished simply by quote marks. Because of Blogger's "so-and-so said" atop each comment, it can appear at first glance that the excerpted quote is being attributed to "so-and-so," when in fact "so-and-so" is, of course, the present commenter.

Finally: Words in written form are not "said." They're written. I am not "saying" this post. I am writing it.

And now I'm done.

Welcome to my blog

Certain bloggers who use Blogger for their blogging require that commenters be registered Blogger bloggers to comment on their blogs.

It sucks, having to register with Blogger to comment.